For more detailed information on areas of opportunity in Japan please refer to our Guide to Doing Business in Japan

ICT
Healthcare
Engineering and Other Services
Biotechnology
High Value Consumer Goods
Food and Drink
Functional Foods

The Japanese market is fast opening to foreign competition and both barriers and operational costs are coming down.  Japan is (by a very large margin) the second largest economy in the world, accounting for 13% of world GDP.  With per capita GDP approximately 1.7 times that of EU - 25 and an astonishing 25% of accumulated world cash savings, it is also very prosperous.  Restructuring, deregulation, decision-making based on the price quality equation rather than traditional loyalties, and the political will to internationalise have created opportunities for non Japanese products and services across a large number of sectors.  Just some of these sectors are highlighted below in no particular order.

ICT:

Japan is known as one of the most advanced countries in terms of broad band infrastructure and wireless services.  Added value service applications and technologies for network operators are in constant demand.  With the launch of digital TV broadcasting, new services covering both broadcasting and telecommunications are expected to emerge.  Security solutions (network, email log etc.) and compliance software for both the healthcare and financial sectors are showing good potential.

Japanese companies are currently looking for the following technologies (April 2004):

• Financial / Compliance software with Operational Risk control / analysis software mainly for financial
  market (re: BIS Basel standard)
• Opto Electronics components such as  ODTR (Opto domain trans reflectors), Opto spectrum analyzers, Wave length meters, NS meters for CATV
• Embedded Software such as IEEE802.15.4, voice codec, other embedded software for wireless and network application.

Healthcare:

With the "graying" of  Japanese society (by 2025, Japan will have the highest percentage of elderly in the world) all  sectors supplying into the health and medical fields are set to grow rapidly. There are also major opportunities in providing products and services for consumers with special needs.

Engineering and Other Services:

Engineering services is proving to be a lucrative market for foreign project management and engineering companies in a country that has traditionally looked abroad for foreign expertise in the service sector. The 2005 problem will create further opportunities when the first of the baby boomers will retire starting a growing need for high level management and other people related services.

Biotechnology:

Biotechnology is an emerging sector in Japan and one highlighted for support and growth by the Japanese government, in particular the areas of environmental biotechnology, probiotechnology, marine biotechnology and reagents.

High Value Consumer Goods:

Japanese consumers are very brand conscious, account for more than 50 per cent of world sales of luxury brands and are willing to pay high prices for top quality goods. With 126 million wealthy, quality conscious, discerning consumers, Japan is an ideal market for well positioned consumer goods - giftware and fashion -  on the higher end of the scale.

Food and Drink:

The Japanese market for foreign-made food and drink products has opened up rapidly in recent years, due both to the inability of domestic producers to satisfy internal demand, and as the tastes of Japanese consumers have become more internationalised. In particular Japan's current state of seafood resources and the resultant declining domestic production in fishing, trawling and aquaculture, provides expanding import opportunities in the seafood sector in Japan, which are supported by improved and developed distribution technologies in air transportation and freezing.   

The superior quality and taste of Irish products create advantages in this sector particularly for products such as live abalone and fresh sea urchin, which are high-class seafood in Japan. 

Functional Foods:

The Japanese government commenced research and development projects into the functionalities (nutritional, pharmacological, psychological, and medical) of food in 1984, resulting in the definition of "food functions" for the first time. The Japanese share of the global functional food and drink market is now 25% and with an aging society and increased focus on healthy lifestyle it is still a most promising growth market.  

Click here to go to the Tokyo International Office